Every guest entering at IG went through metal detector

[Angel Ariel]

I am SURE if you told the guard that your child would get upset if they were separated from you they would make provisions. I am sure that the children/adults the OP saw separated, were not impacted negatively. I think for "most" children, a few minutes separated from their parents, especially if the parent said to wait on the side while they went thru the detector, would be OK. I totally get that different children have different needs and that is fine, they all develop differently. My point is that Disney would work with the parent if this was the case. I VERY much doubt Disney would want a child traumatized by this procedure.

There are logistical issues aside from whether "little johnny" has any kind of issue being separated from the parent. Separating kids as previously described works for those children that can walk, but what about those that can't? As I said before, DD attends a public preschool and rides the bus each morning. The employees on the bus are not *allowed* to carry her up the stairs or down, or to pick her up for any reason other than to get her in her car seat on the bus (installed each morning by the driver) because of the liability issues that causes.

So you have a non walking child in a situation where security is separating kids from parents. Asking what the logistics of that will be is not paranoid, it's logical. Many people babywear their children to the parks. Will they be allowed to wear their child through the metal detectors? If not, will they be required to be in strollers? If they are required to be in strollers, they then need to have a host of signage and information everywhere for parents to know that so they don't come to a park without a stroller (some babywearing parents might, esp. if only going in for a little bit at a time before returning to a hotel). Or are parents supposed to allow the guard to hold their child? (I honestly cannot imagine this possibility happening for the aforementioned liability reasons). These aren't paranoid "what's going to happen to my child" questions. They are logical questions, and information any parent would need to know.

As discussed in this thread, we're not talking about the child going through the detector, then the parent (as is done in airports), but the child being led to the side by an unknown-to-them adult while their parent is being sent through the detector out of sight. There is a lot of liability Disney takes on with that procedure. It is entirely reasonable, and not at all paranoid, for parents to question the wisdom of that procedure.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Just curious, those of you that are questioning separating kids from parents, how do you go through airport security? It's pretty standard to allow only one person to go through at a time. They usually send the kids ahead and then I walk through.

I would hope that if they decide to implement metal detectors, whether a test or everyone goes through it, that they have a sufficient number of them, but something tells me we'll be needing to arrive very early for rope drop.

As I said earlier, DD is 3 and not yet independently walking or standing. I've always brought her through a metal detector at the airport while wearing her. Then my hands are tested for explosive residue. I have never been asked to do otherwise.

 

[kandb]

As I said earlier, DD is 3 and not yet independently walking or standing. I've always brought her through a metal detector at the airport while wearing her. Then my hands are tested for explosive residue. I have never been asked to do otherwise.

You really don't know that Disney would not let you do this, as well (carry your child). I think you are assuming a lot of things just because the OP said she saw children waiting for their parents "on the other side" of the metal detectors. She never said the guards wouldn't let them stay together or they refused someone who wanted to walk thru the detector with their child. I think you are assuming a lot without knowing the facts and based on what someone saw for a few minutes. I am sure if you had a unique situation, the guards would work with you and if they refused, I am sure you could ask for a supervisor.

 

[kandb]

Also, a metal detector really would not make a child "out of sight" to the parent. They do not really block that much visibility, they are rather thin. I go thru them when I go to court for my job and you can always see to the other side. Don't know why people think you can't see beyond the detector.

 

[RachaelA]

Just curious, those of you that are questioning separating kids from parents, how do you go through airport security? It's pretty standard to allow only one person to go through at a time. They usually send the kids ahead and then I walk through.

I would hope that if they decide to implement metal detectors, whether a test or everyone goes through it, that they have a sufficient number of them, but something tells me we'll be needing to arrive very early for rope drop.

At the airport i babywear my youngest (who is a runner) and then my oldest walks ahead the 3 feet through the detector. She stands next to me when they wipe my hands and sometimes check my carrier/wrap. That's different then her being off to the side with a random security guard.

I will say I haven't read a couple of the more recent pages of the thread but are there now reports of kids being sent through at the IG? Sometimes I wear my youngest when we walk into a park occasionally she holds my hand and walks. I absolutely know she will run away from some random guard all while laughing hysterically. this is exactly why she gets worn in the airport.

You just think Disney which is probably the most kid friendly place would know separating kids from parents probably isn't the best idea.

I'm curious to see what Disney final protocol ends up being!

 

[Angel Ariel]

You really don't know that Disney would not let you do this, as well (carry your child). I think you are assuming a lot of things just because the OP said she saw children waiting for their parents "on the other side" of the metal detectors. She never said the guards wouldn't let them stay together or they refused someone who wanted to walk thru the detector with their child. I think you are assuming a lot without knowing the facts and based on what someone saw for a few minutes. I am sure if you had a unique situation, the guards would work with you and if they refused, I am sure you could ask for a supervisor.

I'm not assuming. I laid out questions that I have. The child the OP observed was obviously not an infant or non-walking child, so questions arise as to how they would handle the situation with infants and non-walking children, where them standing with a guard is not possible regardless of whether it's in front of the detector or off to the side. I have not once assumed that Disney would not work with anyone.

As to what the OP said, this is what she stated:

Kids where taken from their families and held by a guard to the side while the Adult went through the scanner. With only a few entering it was manageable for the guard with the kids but heaven help them with this method at a big gate.

Being held "to the side" is not the same thing as "on the other side". Nor is the bolded the same thing as what happens in airports where children are sent through immediately ahead of their accompanying adult. Unless the security guard was holding the child directly on the other side of the detector opening (not off to the side), it's entirely possible to lose visual contact even if it is a few seconds (and a few seconds is all it takes for a runner child to take off). The OP is the only one who can speak definitively as to what she saw.

 

[Dismama2boys]

You really don't know that Disney would not let you do this, as well (carry your child). I think you are assuming a lot of things just because the OP said she saw children waiting for their parents "on the other side" of the metal detectors. She never said the guards wouldn't let them stay together or they refused someone who wanted to walk thru the detector with their child. I think you are assuming a lot without knowing the facts and based on what someone saw for a few minutes. I am sure if you had a unique situation, the guards would work with you and if they refused, I am sure you could ask for a supervisor.

I think you are also making a lot of assumptions. "I am sure the guards would work with you", etc. Are you sure? Really? Based on what? The truth is that no one here knows for sure, and for many parents, there are a lot of questions for good reason. My children will not be under the supervision of a "security guard", period. Other busy places have figured this out and I feel sure Disney will too, but until then, much of this is worrisome. Feel free to disagree, but please stop trying to convince those of us that have concerns that we are wrong.

 

[SoCalTrojanSkip]

The original "policy" was random screenings. But the CSC employees (not gonna call them security by any means) were simply calling guests over for screenings, and most chose to walk right by with no apparent repercussions. I haven't been following this closely since shortly after it was first announced, but yes, it is a total cluster with no real rhyme or reason to the method or personnel being used.

I never thought to just ignore them and keep walking....
I've already been "randomly selected" twice.

 

[hisgal2]

I can also tell you that when my husband has his gun on him, you cannot see it "sticking out" like this guys gun in his pants. They would not have stopped someone carrying correctly without a metal detector. And I do not think this guy would have been caught every time. Some checkers may not have been as vigilant.

I agree with you, but want to just say most people (security included) would not see someone concealed carrying correctly. I live in a state where open-carry is legal. Most people don't, but some do, and that's when you see a handgun just "hanging" there.

This isn't coming from Disney, this is coming from much higher up. That's why Universal and Sea World rolled out the same procedures at the same time (or somewhat the same.) They're doing what they've been advised to do. What they have in place now wouldn't stop each and every terrorist or lone gunman from attacking the parks, but maybe they received a specific threat and the procedures they've put into place would stop that for now. We really don't know what they know or why they're making these decisions.

I was thinking the same thing for the same reason. My thought was maybe insurance companies were changing policies/prices without something being implemented. I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of it. ...not the full reason, but part of it at least.

Let's not make a big deal about "the children are separated from their parents." It's not like they took the children into a separate room on the other side of Disney. People can't be that paranoid if they can't see their child for a few seconds (who is standing with a guard). I am guessing they could probably still see their parents but the parent just had to go thru the detector. If little Johnny is going to get that shaken up, maybe one parent can stay behind with the child while the other goes thru and then the child can go meet the parent on the other side of the detector.

In normal reality, having a child stand to the side probably wouldn't be a big deal. But, here's the thing about kids....when they are not in their "normal" surroundings, the weirdest and smallest things can really freak them out or scare them. I'm in no way a 'helicopter parent' (I'm not being condescending here...people have different parenting styles. It's just not how we parent), and my 7 and 8 year old kids are used to being away from me. They walk 1/2 mile to school in the morning without me, they go to soccer practice without me having to stay on the side lines, they'll even walk to the restroom in a grocery store while I'm shopping if they know where I'm going to be. BUT, a line at Disney, where they have never been before, where there is a large crowd waiting in line, where there is probably alot of noise, where there are security people who they are not familiar with, etc., THAT would frighten them. That is why TSA does not actually separate children from their family. They don't want to freak kids out which would freak parents out which would REALLY cause an issue. Personally, I don't want my kids to be frightened on their first trip to WDW. For this reason, when we are there in just over 2 weeks, if they are asked to stand to the side, we will politely say that they will just walk through the metal detectors instead.

There are so many placed that do not allow guns....schools, hospitals, movie theaters, most restaurants, WDW, etc., etc.

This particular issue is different in every state. In the state I live in, a sign on a door or window of a store or theater or restaurant, etc (this does not include schools or federal buildings) actually means nothing. The state's conceal carry law actually trumps these signs and makes it legal for a permitted concealed carrier to carry in those establishments. However, if the owner of the establishment sees the concealed carried firearm and doesn't want it there, they can ask the carrier to leave and place their firearm in their vehicle and the carrier must comply.




We will be in WDW in just over 2 weeks and I'm not feeling like I will probably brief my kids on what to expect once we get to the resort. They are familiar with going through airport security and have no problem with that (tho, I do remind them of what to expect while we are standing in the wait line and I point things out to them also). Like I've said above, if they are asked to stand to the side, we will instead tell security that they will walk through the detectors with us instead.

 

[BelleBee]

You really don't know that Disney would not let you do this, as well (carry your child). I think you are assuming a lot of things just because the OP said she saw children waiting for their parents "on the other side" of the metal detectors. She never said the guards wouldn't let them stay together or they refused someone who wanted to walk thru the detector with their child. I think you are assuming a lot without knowing the facts and based on what someone saw for a few minutes. I am sure if you had a unique situation, the guards would work with you and if they refused, I am sure you could ask for a supervisor.

You are assuming a lot of things, too.

 

[AngiTN]

You really don't know that Disney would not let you do this, as well (carry your child). I think you are assuming a lot of things just because the OP said she saw children waiting for their parents "on the other side" of the metal detectors. She never said the guards wouldn't let them stay together or they refused someone who wanted to walk thru the detector with their child. I think you are assuming a lot without knowing the facts and based on what someone saw for a few minutes. I am sure if you had a unique situation, the guards would work with you and if they refused, I am sure you could ask for a supervisor.

No I didn't because typing on the iPad, I tried to be detailed but brief at the same time. I'm home now and I'll try to give more details on how it worked both times we entered and what was still occurring when we exited.
But the guard would NOT let them stay together.
1 of the 2 boys (I assumed to be brothers, were with 1 parent at that time) tried to go back to father (or the male I assume was the father) while he was in line to enter the metal detector. This parent was alone at that time. The mother (or who I assumed was the Mom) came up later with the stroller, the dad and kids were already through the line. Since she came up later and they were already in line when we arrived I do not know if they had to take the kids out of the stroller or if they were already out when they came up to enter.
If you know the layout of the IG, you have 3/4 bag check lane and and straight across, the 3/4 lanes to scan bands/tickets.
There was a guard between them stopping all guests and telling them to enter the detector.
The detector is off to the side of the bag checks, next to where the exit is.
There is a table beside the detector, where they put the bags and trays for what's in your pocket. The CSC employee was standing to wand any that beeped.
The guard was holding the kids was behind her. The line was forming to enter along front of the bag check and wrapping around towards the Mickey readers. The bag check was quick so the line to enter the detector was backing up a good bit.
The dad was near enough to them to tell him to stay there and he did and it was fine.
Would it have been different had the child been more upset or had the parent put up a fight about it, no idea.
I'm inclined to think yes but that's just a guess.

 

[gdrj]

Went through detector at IG at EPCOT on NYE. Emptied pockets, minimal delay if any. I was randomly selected . I'm sure the process will change with time and from learnings of initial rollout.

 

[tsme]

I don't see that as sarcastic. I see it as entirely possible. In an age when you have to stop at the California border to declare whether or not you're carrying fruits or vegetables, and BICE can stop you within 100 miles of the border just to see if you're an American citizen, there's nothing stopping Disney from doing pre-entry vehicle checks at the WDW borders.

I'm sure this won't be popular, but personally, I'd rather be stopped ONCE at the point of entry to Disney, then have to checked every time I want to go into a park. They could check the whole dang truck, run my luggage thru a scanner, I don't care. It'd be worth it just so I don't have to deal with the bottlenecking at the parks entrances (which is extremely dangerous, IMO) or the stress. My DD & I both have extremely bad anxiety so even on the lower crowd days, being in those lines causes stress (once we get pass that point it's better, breathable), adding the metal detectors makes it worse by looking at the photos. Plus, we like to park hop and we'll sometimes go back & forth from an Epcot resort to Epcot a few times a day. It sucks to think of having to deal with that every time. And I do realize for some people it's not a big deal, but for me it is. So I'd rather it be a one and done. But to be completely honest, I have no idea how it could be implemented.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm sure this won't be popular, but personally, I'd rather be stopped ONCE at the point of entry to Disney, then have to checked every time I want to go into a park. They could check the whole dang truck, run my luggage thru a scanner, I don't care. It'd be worth it just so I don't have to deal with the bottlenecking at the parks entrances (which is extremely dangerous, IMO) or the stress. My DD & I both have extremely bad anxiety so even on the lower crowd days, being in those lines causes stress (once we get pass that point it's better, breathable), adding the metal detectors makes it worse by looking at the photos. Plus, we like to park hop and we'll sometimes go back & forth from an Epcot resort to Epcot a few times a day. It sucks to think of having to deal with that every time. And I do realize for some people it's not a big deal, but for me it is. So I'd rather it be a one and done. But to be completely honest, I have no idea how it could be implemented.

This is one area where DLR will have a great advantage. Security is as you enter the Esplanade, so no additional security as you park hop. Although anyone coming from the Harbor Ave. hotels and just wanting to visit DTD will have to pass through security to get there. However, that doesn't mean DTD is a secure area since there's no security to enter on the other side.

 

[MouseMum]

I guess they have to move towards universal scanning to avoid any complaints of discrimination etc.

Sounds like a real mess though. Not magical but I guess this is the world we live in now

I just happened upon this post and read only the first page because your comment struck a note with me. I heard the frustration in the earlier posters comments. People who have been to this magical place many, many times, seeing these unorganized safety strategies in place. Ugh! But I was totally disheartened when you said "this is the world we live in now"...because I agree with you 100%. And that's so, so sad. But IMO, as unmagical as this all sounds, I believe it has to be done. (more sadness)

 

[kandb]

I think most movie theaters, at least around here in the Chicago area, are gun free, happily so.

Happily so, until someone comes in and shoots a bunch of innocent people.